


You're next

by BloodyBacon



Category: Layton Kyouju Series | Professor Layton Series
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-15 06:48:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28809144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BloodyBacon/pseuds/BloodyBacon
Relationships: Clive/Luke Triton
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	You're next

Luke looked up from the kitchen sink, taking off his yellow rubber gloves with a wide smile as he rushed up to the door. He hadn't had time to get dressed properly, still just wearing a pair of shorts and an apron. The two liked to let the house air out every once in a while, plus it was nice to have the doors open with no AC when the weather was perfect for it, good for the plants too! His shirt was laid out across the couch as he happily ran past it. He opened his arms, seeing that Clive made it back alive made Luke happy, especially given what his job was … but

But he just- Something wasn't right, Clive looked wrong. He had a weird look on his face, a stoic expression, with a noticeable amount of regret. The way he didn't look at Luke, silently standing there as if ye were guilty, expecting to get yelled at.

He stood there, dressed nice, in a black suit with a … black tie. 

"Oh-" Luke stopped in front of him, and Clive shut the door, running a hand through his own hair. His gaze was fixated on the floor as his mouth hung open with the intent to speak, but … nothing came of it. He just, sighed, and looked down at Luke, the weight on his shoulders weighing him down to kneel in front of the boy.

"Lukey ..." he said, as if he had more to say, picking the boy up. He hugged him, hugged him tight, and Luke knew for sure something was wrong. He held onto Clive, being carried off up the stairs. Each creak of the floor made the boy sort of- uneasy. 

"Is something the matter?" 

Luke's words were met with nothing more than a few mumbled sentence fragments, and a face buried in his shoulder. 

"I'm so sorry …" Clive said, and Luke smiled, wrapping his arms around Clive's shoulders. He got like this, after funerals he would sometimes just need to cry, seeing the people he worked with, lived around, his friends, his family, slaughtered in the name of business and money, sometimes it was too much for him, and he just needed something sweet for balance. 

He pushed open his room door, a massive, plush bed with pastel blue sheets. You can guess who decorated it, and painted the walls a pretty shade of gray. Clive sat down on the bed, falling over onto his side, head against the pillows with Luke in his arms. He brushed his hands through the boy's head, and Luke could hear him sniffling. 

"It's okay-" Luke said, rubbing his back. "just let it all out, it's okay to cry-" the boy stroked his head, and Clive held onto him. 

"I killed someone-" he said, confessing his sins. Luke nodded, "you did what you had to do. It's okay-"

"It's not- i-" Clive sniffled, "it's not okay- he- saw us- our faces- and i didn't think about it- and I-" Clive buried his face in Luke's chest. "I shot him-  _ a kid- he looked- just like you- _ " he said. 

He was … a wreck now, just crying, apologizing. Luke could feel that he was shaking, but he couldn't comprehend it. Clive killing a kid, a kid just like him. 

Clive .. killing him- it just- doesn't make sense. So he stayed quiet, continuing to pet him, imagining it, unable to see it ever happening, even in his mind. 

After a while, Clive started to calm down, he looked tired, like he'd just been up all night, surviving on coffee. The boy looked down at the top of his boyfriend's head, and kissed it, "i forgive you … it isn't your fault." He said, and Clive made a pathetic sound, looking up at him, clearly not understanding the line of logic. 

Luke just kissed him again, "If you didn't- then he might have told, and then we would be in trouble .."

"But-" Clive wiped his face, "It's not like he told me to do this- he was just- a kid- I'm the one that chose to do this-" Clive said, "but he had to pay for it- i just-" He was crying again.

Luke still couldn't really understand it, so he did the best he could holding onto him, petting him, letting him get it all out of his system. The boy thought it was sad, the way he acted at work, he couldn't show himself at all, and if he did he'd be weakened by others taking advantage of how fragile he could be. He needed to look tough, act tough, strong, smart, quick … but he wasn't. 

He was just one guy, who got sucked into the madness, and sometimes … he couldn't take it. 

"You still … love me?" Clive asked, and Luke nodded, "I'll always love you-” Luke said, “I’ll be here forever- you’ll never- ever have to worry about me going away-” Luke said, and Clive smiled, his body finally coming down off of it’s high edge, allowing him to feel tired. He laid there, in silence for a few more seconds before his eyes refused to open again. Luke watched him as he went to sleep, stroking his head, mumbling and whispering that everything would be okay, that he had nothing to worry about, and that he forgave him. 

For some reason, Luke got the idea somewhere in the back of his mind, that maybe Clive needed help, as in, mental help, because this couldn’t be good for him … but- Luke didn’t know if it would help, how much talking does it take to make a person feel better about killing people? Especially if they didn’t want to, He was much too young to be able to answer a question like that. 

“Luke-?” Clive mumbled, eyes cracking open for just a split second. Luke looked down at him, and Clive was silent …

He seemed to be thinking, at least Luke thought so, but he wasn’t saying anything.

“Nevermind ..” He said, slipping back off into sleep. Luke just … continued to pet him. He wasn’t sure if it mattered what he was going to say. He hoped it was nothing. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


…

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Luke had shut all of the doors, and put a shirt on. He’d gone downstairs to make breakfast that morning, seeing that Clive was seated at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee and a cigarette. A terrible combo for his breath, but … an understandable pacifier. Luke slowly approached him, still dressed in his pajamas. Clive hadn’t changed clothes at all, so the first thing Luke did was put a hand on his arm, and pull a little. 

Clive got up, almost like a zombie, letting Luke guide him back upstairs. He looked like he was done crying, and he’d gotten it all out, all his anguish and confusion, but now there was nothing left, and he’d be empty for a while until Luke did something about it. 

Luke opened the bathroom door, “go take a shower- I’ll bring you some clothes-” He said, watching as Clive nodded, putting his cigarette out on the wall, dropping it into the bathroom trash can. 

“A-and don’t do that! You’ll mess up the paint!” 

“..” Clive smiled, “alright- I’m sorry-” He said, briefly putting his hand through Luke’s hair before shutting himself up in the bathroom … 

Luke looked at the burn mark on the wall, along with all of the others sprinkled near it, and wondered for a second, if it was him, or did all the little burn marks spell something out …

Luke looked at the bathroom door, and pressed his hand to it, about to open it before he decided otherwise. “I’m gonna make breakfast- after I get you your clothes- okay?” 

“Alright-” 

“... You better come downstairs-” 

“I will-” 

“I’m serious! If you’re not out in twenty minutes I’m gonna come in!” 

“I’ll be fine! I can take a shower on my own can’t I?”

“I don’t know! Can you?” 

There was a quiet little laugh from inside, and Luke reversed all his doubt, walking away as Clive assured him he’d come out. 

Maybe the word he saw within all the burns was just in his imagination ...


End file.
